IRVING
— The Cowboys are only halfway through the season, but they’ve already set an
NFL record.

And this is one of those records you won’t find in any club news releases
because it’s not of the positive variety.

In a sign of the times, the Cowboys are the first NFL team to allow four
400-yard passing games in the same season. No other team this season has allowed
more than one. Before this year, the Cowboys had allowed only nine 400-yard
passers in the franchise’s first 53 seasons.

A new defensive scheme hasn’t seemed to help the secondary. The Cowboys have
allowed five 400-yard passers over their last 10 games stretching back to last
season.

And it couldn’t get much worse than last week, when Detroit quarterback
Matthew Stafford passed for 488 yards. The Lions had 623 total yards, including
329 receiving from Calvin Johnson. Most of that came against Cowboys cornerback
Brandon Carr.

At the midway point, the Cowboys rank last in the league in total defense
(allowing 422.5 yards per game) and at the bottom of the NFL in passing defense
(315.4 yards per game).

So how do they fix the problem?

“Solve what problem?” cornerback Orlando Scandrick said Wednesday. “If you
want to put this all on this defense, go ahead. As a team, we need to get
better.”

Isn’t the first step in a 12-step program admitting you have a problem? Oh,
never mind.

The man charged with fixing the leaks in the secondary is defensive
coordinator Monte Kiffin. He brought his Tampa 2 scheme to town in January that
was designed to limit big plays and force turnovers.

He deserves half credit. The Cowboys are tied for third in the NFL with 19
takeaways — three more than they had all of last season — but have given up 35
plays of 20-plus yards (33 in the air).

“You can say whatever you want,” Kiffin said Wednesday. “There’s nothing
wrong with this system.”

So it’s the players? They know this system well now?

“We’re getting better,” Kiffin said. “We have stretches where we look good at
it and sometimes we don’t. It’s quite evident. It’s not all pieced together yet,
but we have to hurry up.”

The Cowboys aren’t likely to get better in the secondary anytime soon
considering their recent injuries. Cornerback Morris Claiborne is out at least
the next two games with a strained hamstring. Starting safety J.J. Wilcox’s
sprained right knee has improved, but he’s still not practicing and not likely
to play Sunday against Minnesota.

The Cowboys were so thin at safety in practice Wednesday that they only had
three healthy bodies. And one of them — starter Barry Church — is working
through a strained hamstring suffered Sunday. Church practiced Wednesday,
however, and said he’ll play Sunday. Reserve safety Danny McCray didn’t practice
Wednesday because of a hip and toe injury.

With Claiborne out, the Cowboys will turn to rookie cornerback B.W. Webb, who
saw his most extensive action of the season against the Lions. Undrafted rookie
safety Jeff Heath probably will get his second consecutive start in place of
Wilcox.

The good news for the Cowboys is Minnesota hasn’t even decided which
quarterback will start Sunday. And, so far, it hasn’t mattered.

Minnesota ranks 29th in the NFL in passing yards (216.4). The Vikings have
only five passing touchdowns. That’s three fewer than Cowboys receiver Dez
Bryant has alone.

But next week, the Cowboys face New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, who ranks
second all time with 13 400-yard passing games.

That’s why Kiffin said the Cowboys have to hurry and get their secondary
fixed.

“You don’t want to be in the bottom of the barrel,” Carr said. “I take a lot
of pride in my unit. We take a lot of pride in ourselves. Now it’s time to turn
it up another notch and be disgusted with that because why do you want to be at
the bottom?

“Now it’s what are we going to do about it. Are we going to come out here and
be serious about our craft and our profession and be on the same page and have
that awareness and carry that to the practice field and carry that to Sunday and
play fast like some of these top defenses that you see?

“We’re not too far off as far as the skill set we have. It’s just the
awareness and situational football. That’s what it comes down to.”

Follow Brandon George on Twitter at @DMN_George

400-yard passing games

The Cowboys are the first NFL team to allow four 400-yard passing games in the same season. Before this year, the Cowboys had allowed nine 400-yard passers in the franchise’s first 53 seasons. Here’s a look at how many 400-yard passing games there have been in the NFL of late:

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